Mirrored Images

by Michelle Larks

  Jay still wasn’t coping well with the DNA results. He slept off his hangover at a cheap motel.

  Michaela felt flickers of curiosity about her biological father. Connie told her of the infamous love triangle between the sisters and Jeremiah during dinner. Bobo joined them later at the hotel and added his own anecdotes.

  Melissa’s spirit was crushed to pulp by her parental revelation and Nancy’s not telling her the truth. Her grandmother sat with her on the bed as she perused the letter Nate had written years ago.

  Hey, baby girl,

  If I’m lucky, Momma has told you the truth, Vanessa is not your biological mother. You probably hate me right now and rightfully so. There’s nothing I can say or do to undo the wrongs that have been done to you. Maybe I should have left Vanessa and raised you myself but I didn’t want to leave Moniqa alone with Vanessa. I never knew my father and I didn’t want to deprive my children of one. Hindsight is 20’20 and I just didn’t possess that trait all those years ago. To put it plain and simple, Vanessa is a bitch. She’s mean, self-centered and insensitive. In my own way, I tried to compensate for her treatment of you. Hopefully, it hasn’t scarred you too badly.

  I loved your mother Jacqueline and I knew I did her a horrible wrong. I should have married her instead of Van. Once again, that 20’20 reasoning comes into effect. I promised Jackie on her deathbed that I would take care of you. Vanessa was already livid because I wasn’t at the hospital when Moniqa was born. She used that situation to get her way time and time again. I asked Momma if she’d raise you and she refused. She told me I’d made my bed and I had to lie in it.

  It wasn’t an easy task getting Vanessa to agree to your staying with us. It was a blessing from God that you and Moni were born on the same day, and Vanessa and Jackie resembled each other. That’s how we came up with twin idea. Vanessa promised to love you like her own. We both knew she wasn’t able to. Jacqueline’s parents were deceased; an elderly aunt raised her. As time elapsed, Vanessa grew resentful of your presence and life became a living hell. I still feel guilty about Jacqueline’s death, it’s haunted me my entire life.

  I’m so sorry for all that has happened. I knew the day would come when you needed to know the truth and I hoped I would be the one to tell you. But if you’re reading this letter, obviously I didn’t. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive an imperfect man. I have always loved you and been proud of you, Melissa. Don’t forget that. You are the best of Jackie and me.

  Talk to Momma, she can tell you about your mother. My Jackie was a vivacious, beautiful, caring young woman with a dimple in her cheek like yours. She helped me start the business and owned shares in the company. Lawrence has the shares in a trust for you, your children and theirs. Those shares make you the majority owner of the company. All Robert has to do is invoke a codicil, I added to my will.

  There is no doubt in my mind you’ve grown to become a beautiful woman like Jackie. Live your life and don’t waste time trying to change things or relationships you can’t, like Vanessa.

  Love you, baby girl,

  Your father

  Nathaniel Adams

  When Melissa finished reading the letter, she sobbed. Her heart was broken even though deep inside she knew that her father had loved her, her shaking hands held the proof. Her head spun like a globe with the news that Vanessa wasn’t her biological mother.

  Enclosed in the envelope were pictures taken at one of those photographic booths. There was a four-picture set of Nate and Jackie taken years ago. They smiled at each other and the love they shared was apparent in their expressions. Nate’s arm was slung around Jackie’s neck possessively. Her hand caressed his cheek. Jackie’s birth certificate was also included.

  Melissa laid the documents aside, lowered her face into her hands and cried. Tears were shed for who she thought she was and the person she’d just become.

  She looked at Nancy and a tremulous smile brightened her face. Nancy looked hopeful. She gathered Melissa in her arms and they held each other tightly.

  Chapter Thirty

  The following morning, Michaela knocked on Melissa’s door. Melissa was surprised to see her daughter. She was dressed in denim overall shorts, a pink teeshirt, pink anklet socks and white sneakers. Her braids were gathered in a pink scrunche atop her head. Michaela said unsmiling, “We need to eat and go to the hospital. My father needs us.”

  Melissa’s arms ached. She longed to hug her daughter but reached for her hand instead. Michaela stood stiffly but allowed her to hold it. “You’re right, Jeremiah needs us. Let’s eat and see about getting the test scheduled.”

  * * *

  When Melissa walked into Jeremiah’s room, he was asleep. His breathing sounded labored. Additional floral arrangements brightened up his room. The blinds were slightly ajar.

  Melissa noticed another bag added to his IV stand. His parents sat at the sides of the bed looking at their son gravely. Ophelia looked up. When she saw Melissa, she sprang from her seat with a frown. It turned to a smile when she recognized who it was. “Melissa Adams! You are a sight for sore eyes. The best medicine in the world for my baby.” Mr. and Mrs. Jeffries enveloped her in a big hug.

  Melissa asked them if they’d come outside the room with her. She wanted them to meet someone.

  Later, Melissa returned to Jeremiah’s room alone. She saw his hand shake as he attempted to guide a spoonful of oatmeal into his mouth. His eyes brightened when Melissa walked into the room. “How are you doing, baby? Bobo told me you had a rough time yesterday.”

  “I’m fine,” Melissa said after she kissed his forehead. She took the spoon from his hand and fed him.

  When she’d finished, Melissa looked into his eyes and said, “J, we need to talk.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “Remember when I was supposed to meet you in Nashville all those years ago? I had news to share with you. Time is so precious now, that I’m going to have to just tell you. We have a daughter. She’s here and wants to be tested as a bone marrow donor.”

  Emotions crossed Jeremiah’s face like the colors of a rainbow. Disbelief, incredulity, hope, and… His hand hovered over his heart. “Did I hear you correctly? We you mean we have a daughter?” His eyes darted toward the door as if he expected their daughter to stroll inside.

  “Yes, darling. You heard me correctly. I was pregnant and planned to tell you the day you married Moniqa. I didn’t raise her because I was afraid of what Mommy and Moniqa might do. My reasoning was faulty. I made a bad decision. My cousin and her husband, they live in California, are her guardians. Her name is Michaela Jerique and I only met her the first time this week.” Melissa peeped at Jeremiah and her heart lurched. He stared at her, with a neutral expression on his face.

  Melissa’s hands were clasped around her knees as she continued talking. “Finding out she’s not her parent’s child has thrown Michaela for a loop. She’s not happy being around me right now but I hope in time she’ll forgive me. Michaela wants to help you. So let’s fast forward to my bringing her in. We need to get the tests scheduled ASAP.” Her legs shook, as she attempted to stand.

  Jeremiah raised Melissa’s cold hands to his lips and kissed them. They stared at each other and their gazes shouted, “forgive me”. “I love you and want to meet our daughter.”

  Jeremiah’s lips curved into a smile at the sight of his beloved, and their child. His thin face seemed to magically fill out and his eyes lit up brightly. He held out his thin arms as Michaela walked toward the bed.

  She looked uneasy, sensing his health was precarious, and glanced at Melissa. Then she bent over and hugged him. Jeremiah touched her face, traced her nose and lips. They mirrored his own. Her protruding brow and dimple in her left cheek was all Melissa. Her micro braids swung jauntily on her shoulders. Jeremiah grinned. “We have a lot of time to make up for.”

  Jeremiah, being a doctor, and a caring, empathic person was able to draw Michaela out, unlike Melissa. Father and daughter chatted naturally
as if they’d known each other their entire lives. Melissa sat serenely at the foot of the bed. Michaela sat on the chair to his left. To anyone on the outside looking in, they appeared to be a family.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  A din sounded from the hallway. Melissa, Jeremiah, and Michaela glanced toward the door. Vanessa’s voice rose stridently in protest. “What do you mean I can’t see my son-in-law?”

  Melissa hopped off the bed and hastily walked to the door, Michaela trailing behind her. Ophelia and Jeremiah Sr. blocked the entrance to Jeremiah’s room, refusing Vanessa entry. Bobo jogged to the nurse’s station and requested Security be called. Miss Wilson, the nurse, tapped the keyboard and saw there was an order barring Vanessa Adams and Moniqa Jeffries.

  “You heard her say she’s his mother-in-law. She’s Vanessa Adams.” Bobo waved his hands and his voice rose urgently.

  Ma’am what is your name?” Miss Wilson asked. The telephone lay cradled in her neck and her fingers were poised on the keypad. It was obvious she remembered the woman from yesterday.

  Vanessa glared at her. “Mrs. Vanessa Adams. Jeremiah is my son-in-law. I want to see how he’s feeling today.”

  Ophelia, Jeremiah Sr. and Bobo blocked Jeremiah’s room like sentries. Melissa and Michaela stepped outside the room looking bemused. Michaela whispered, “Who is she?” Her eyes flickered toward Vanessa.

  “Someone I used to know. My ex-mother,” Melissa said loudly as she lifted her chin.

  Vanessa, hearing Melissa’s voice, turned. She saw Michaela. The young woman was the splitting image of Jeremiah. The sight was too much for her mind to comprehend. Her mouth dropped open then tightened into a thin line. “Who might you be?” she asked Michaela snidely.

  “Who I am and what my name is, is none of your business,” Michaela retorted. She knew inherently that the haggard-looking woman meant her father and mother harm. Michaela’s heart skipped a beat, as she realized that she’d thought of the couple as mother and father. Forgive me, Mommy and Daddy. I got caught up in the moment.

  “Obviously you haven’t had any home-training,” Vanessa shot back. “Didn’t anyone tell you to be respectful to your elders?” Her hands flew to her hips and her foot tapped impatiently.

  “When I see someone who deserves my respect, it will be given. How dare you come up here disturbing my father and the other sick people on this floor? Where is your home training?” Her stance was defensively as if about to do battle. Her hands flew to her mouth. She looked at Melissa and shrugged sheepish. “Uh oh.”

  Melissa’s arm snaked around Michaela’s waist. “You were superb. I couldn’t have put it any better myself. You were able to do that which I’ve never been able to do my entire life, put my mother in her place.”

  Bobo clapped and shouted, “Bravo.”

  “Who did you say you are?” Vanessa’s eyes closed into slits at the sight of Melissa and Michaela laughing together. “Apparently there are no limits you’ll go to, to break up my daughter and her husband.” She sniffed, turning up her nose like something stank.

  Two security guards walked down the hallway to the nurse’s station, conferred with them, and then they walked to the unruly group outside Jeremiah’s room. “Ma’am you’re going to have to leave,” the shorter guard said.

  “On whose authority?” Vanessa asked. “That’s my son-in-law in there.“ She gestured to Jeremiah’s room. “It’s those two over there.” She pointed at Melissa and Michaela. “You need to throw out.”

  “Look, lady,” the taller guard said, taking a pair of handcuffs from his pocket. “We can do this the easy way or the hard. It makes no difference to me.” The men walked in Vanessa’s direction.

  Vanessa realized continuing to stay in the hospital was futile. She glared ominously, at Melissa as she headed to the elevator. “It’s not over yet,” she spat. “We’ll chat again soon.”

  The security guards strolled behind Vanessa as she walked down the hallway. She glanced back. The nurses snickered. A few people came out of hospitals rooms, stared and pointed at the widow Adams.

  After Jeremiah introduced Melissa and Michaela to Dr. Herman, he asked the women to leave the room, so he could examine his patient.

  For the first time in many months, the physician felt optimistic regarding his co-worker’s recovery. Perhaps Michaela was the miracle sorely needed for Jeremiah’s recovery. He told Michaela he would talk to her when he was done with Jeremiah.

  * * *

  That evening, the Jeffries’, Melissa, Michaela, Nancy and Bobo supped at Connie’s house. She wasn’t a culinary expert and most of the time she dined at the hotel restaurant so she called the catering staff at her place of employment and asked if they could prepare a meal for about twenty people. The head chef was more than happy to oblige.

  They feasted on Caesar salad, cream of broccoli soup, roasted chicken with wild rice and roasted potatoes. Dessert was a coconut cream pie. Bobo fixed a batch of iced tea.

  The tinkle of forks and ice cubes were the only audible sounds in the kitchen and dining rooms. Connie arranged the food attractively in bowls and platters on her beige, Irish lace tablecloth. She’d raided her china cabinet for her best dishes, silverware and stemware. A pair of pewter candlesticks and matching salt and pepper shakers sat in the middle of the table.

  Bobo and Connie sliced the pies and served it along with coffee.

  “Umm… that was good,” Michaela said enthusiastically as she leaned back in her seat.

  “I’m stuffed.” Melissa groaned rubbing her stomach. “I can’t think of when I had a better meal.”

  Ophelia sat in the family room opposite the dining room. “I second that. Now all we need is my granddaughter to be a match and I could die happy tomorrow.”

  Jeremiah Sr. cleared his throat. “I’d like everyone to say a prayer for Jeremiah. Would you please come into the family room and join hands.”

  Instead of Jeremiah Sr. leading the prayer as everyone assumed he would, he suggested everyone say a prayer aloud for Jeremiah.

  Michaela, standing between Melissa and Ophelia, blushed and looked down when it was her turn. “It seems like my life has been turned upside down for the past week. I feel animosity in my heart, because I wasn’t who I thought I was. I’ve been lucky, having being raised in the Christian and Jewish faiths. When I talked to my daddy last night, he requested I keep an open mind and heart. I’m happy I was able to meet my biological family.” She looked at the circle of family who gazed at her expectantly. “There is no doubt in my mind that God will heal Dr. Jeremiah.”

  Melissa bowed her head then squeezed Michaela hand and said a heartfelt, “Amen.”

  * * *

  The following morning, the family gathered at the hospital and Dr. Herman scheduled the tests for Michaela the following day. Although Jeremiah spirits were uplifted, his white count dropped, Melissa wouldn’t leave his side.

  His nurses had developed a fondness for the woman everyone prayed would give Dr. Jeffries a reason to live.

  Michaela talked to Nina and Jacob daily. They were heartened and prayed like everyone else that Jeremiah’s medical condition would improve. Although her daughter and son-in-law raised Michaela from infancy, Brenda always cautioned them that the day would come when Michaela would need to know her biological parents. God had blessed the couple with a child who enabled Nina to bear her own children. The worst-case scenario would be for them to share Michaela with her other set of parents.

  As Melissa watched Jeremiah sleep, she felt apprehensive. What if Michaela isn’t a match and what would the ramifications mean for Jeremiah? She sensed he clung to life by sheer willpower. She dropped her head and murmured a prayer as Connie grasped her hand tightly.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  At 9:00 pm the day before Michaela’s test, Jay decided to return home after another drunken binge. He’d maxed out his credit card, leaving him cash-strapped. A shower and change of clothing was in order if he planned to visit Jeremiah. Jay planned t
o wait until midnight and take his chances entering the house unseen. He didn’t feel up to dealing with Moniqa’s antics.

  Jay’s hand shook slightly as he tried to the insert the key into the slot. He swore aloud after dropping the key a couple of times and almost toppled over as he crouched to retrieve his key ring. “Damn. The opening is tiny,” he cursed as he squinted at the lock and pushed the door open.

  Jay planned to sneak up the staircase when he noticed a narrow shaft of light glowing from the family room. He stubbed his toe on a chair and suppressed a yelp of pain. Light flooded the room. Standing disapprovingly behind him was Vanessa, Valerie, and his Ross great-grandparents.

  “Son, what are you doing?” Edward asked. He shook his head sadly. “You’re too old for this type of behavior. We were worried sick about you.”

  “Especially your mother,” Vanessa injected. Her eyes bore holes into his.

  “Yeah, I can see how worried she is,” Jay’s words were slurred as he paused on the bottom rung of the staircase, glaring hostilely at his relatives. “Mommie Dearest is so worried that she isn’t even here.” He weaved backward and forward and grabbed the post.

  Vanessa defended her daughter. “Moniqa is worried.” She held her body erect with her arms folded across her chest and glared at her grandson. “So worried, she’s in the hospital.”

  Loud guffaws emanated from Jay’s mouth. “If Mom is in the hospital it’s not my fault. Maybe it’s because her lies caught up with her.” He continued walking slowly up the stairs. To his bloodshot eyes, the staircase seemed to have doubled in size.

  “Don’t just stand there,” Patricia admonished her husband. “Do something, Ed?”

  “There’s nothing he can do.” Jay closed his eyes as a wave of dizziness hit him. “Can he fix the wrongs my mother has done against her husband and son?” He laughed again as he weaved back and forth precariously. “I stand corrected. I mean soon-to-be ex-husband.”